“Today is Clean Sweep Day, the day we all help clean up the neighborhood,” Big Bird sighed. “It's going to be a lot of work.”

“Don't worry,” said Bella. “Mom, Dad, Grandma and Grandpa showed me you can make a big job easier by turning it into a game. Let's try it. We can pick up trash starting with each letter of the alphabet.”

“That'll be fun!” Big Bird smiled. So Big Bird spread the word about the great idea Bella had and the Clean-Sweep game began.

“Look, someone left a broken airplane here, right next to a stack of beat-up boxes,” Bella said. “Amazing, that's our A and B!”

“Hey, this box is full of empty cans,” called Big Bird. “C is for cans!”

“Cool, we can recycle them,” Bella said. “Wow, we have A, B, and C already! Now let's find something that starts with D.”

Just then, Rosita joined them. “How about these dishes, Bella?” she asked, holding cracked dishes from her tea set. “You can have these too,” she added, handing over a stack of old envelopes. “I took all the neat stamps off them.”

“Excellent!” said Bella. By now, everyone on Sesame Street knew about the Clean-Sweep game.

“Elmo wants to play, too,” Elmo said with a smile, carrying as many tattered gloves and bent forks as he could manage. Elmo looked so silly Bella had to laugh. “Those forks are fabulous for F and your gloves will make a great G addition to our trash collection,” she giggled.

While collecting Elmo's gloves, Bella noticed a twisted water hose lying on the sidewalk. “Watch out, Big Bird!” she called. But it was too late. Poor Big Bird tripped on the hose and fell with a THUMP. Luckily, Big Bird's feathers padded his fall so he wasn't hurt.

Bella ran to help him up. “I'm glad you're not hurt, Big Bird. At least you found something that started with the letter H. This hose has so many holes in it, it must be trash!”

“How about using this to smooth your ruffled feathers, Bird?” snickered Oscar, handing Big Bird an old iron. “Don't be silly, Oscar! But a rusty iron is ideal for our trash pile so we'll have an I!” Bella exclaimed.

“Boy, I don't know what we'll use for J,” Bella wondered. “I sure wish Mom, Dad, Grandma and Grandpa were here to help.”

“You know,” Bella continued, “the park might be a good place to find more alphabet trash. Let's go!”

Bella was right. She and her friends picked up many things at the park to add to their collection. They found a half-eaten lollipop in some litter on the ground. Someone had left a milk carton on a bench. They collected a net near a nest up in a tree, and even a broken oar by the pond.

“Now that we've got L, M, N, and O, we're ready for your puzzle pieces, Zoe,” Bella said with a smile. “P is for the puzzle pieces!” shouted Zoe.

“Don't worry, Big Bird,” Bella said. “See, the zipper is broken on my old wallet. I had it in my pocket all the time.”

“All right! Bella found Z!” Big Bird shouted. “We went through the whole alphabet, and we made the neighborhood look cleaner than ever.”

“I sure had a lot of fun helping you with your big job, Big Bird. Now I'd better go home to Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin,” Bella said. “Besides, I can't wait to tell Mom, Dad, Grandma and Grandpa how much fun it is playing games with the alphabet!”